By Olanrewaju Akojede
Nigeria is expected to participate in the 2024 Paris Olympics, 72 years since her first appearance in the 1952 Games at Helsinki, Finland.
Team Nigeria went to Helsinki with nine athletes and since then had consistently competed in every Summer Olympics, except in the 1976 Olympics, which it boycotted.
Nigeria made a podium finish in boxing when Nojeem Maiyegun boxed his way to a Bronze medal in the men’s light middleweight class after his fight with Jozef Grzesiak of Poland.
Before Maiyegun’s first medal for his country in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, Nigeria had missed a podium finish in Melbourne, Australia; and Rome, Italy in 1956.
After Maiyegun’s bronze medals, Nigeria began to make many efforts as Mexico 1968 produced no medal finish.
Team Nigeria also won another bronze medal in boxing at the Munich 1972 games through Isaac Ikhouria in the light heavyweight class.
The country also made a better podium finish in the 1984 Olympics held in the then capital of Germany, Munich, than in the 1972 games by winning a silver and a bronze medal respectively.
Team Nigeria in 1992 in Barcelona, Spain, medal haul peaked with three medals – one gold, a silver and a bronze.
Nigeria, with its boxers then became a nemesis to many boxers around the world and was rewarded for such dominance when David Izonritei and Richard Igbineghu won silver medals in the men’s heavyweight and men’s super-heavyweight categories respectively.
The intriguing part was that Nigeria won a gold medal through the boardroom decisions as the men and women’s relay teams won silver medals in the 4×100m relay races respectively.
The men’s quartet of Olapade Adeniken, Davidson Ezinwa, Chidi Imoh and Oluyemi Kayode won silver, while the women’s quartet of Beatrice Utondu, Christy Opara-Thompson, Mary Onyali and Faith Idehen won bronze.
Nigeria also reached its peak at Olympics participation in the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta U.S., as ace long jumper, Chioma Ajunwa leaped her way to the gold medal in women’s long jump with astonishing 7:23 meters.
She became the first West-African woman to win a gold medal in the Olympic games and also made history as Nigeria’s first Olympic gold medalist in the women’s long jump.
In 1996 Olympic games in Atlanta, Nigeria’s men football team took the world by storm by winning the gold medal.
The feat was attained by the golden generation of footballers captained by Kanu Nwankwo in an incredible comeback to defeat Argentina, the South American football giant 3:2, to become the first African nation to win an Olympic football medal.
Then, on Aug. 3, 1996, no fewer than 86,117 spectators filled the Sanford stadium in Athens to watch Argentina take on Nigeria in the finals.
The team was nicknamed the ‘Dream Team’ after their Atlanta triumph.
It was also the biggest win for Nigeria’s Under-23 team at the finals of the football competition. Before reaching the finals they defeated Brazil 4:3 at the semi-finals.
Nigeria’s women’s 4x400m relay team also won another silver medal that year.
At the 2000 Sydney Olympics game, Nigeria recorded three medals – all silver – but later got the gold medal through a boardroom decision, after coming behind the quartet of U.S. sprinters comprising Alvin Harrison, Antonio Pettigrew, Calvin Harrison and Michael Johnson.
The U.S. sprinters were adjudged to have won the 4x400m relay race ahead of the Nigerian team of Clement Chukwu, Jude Monye, late Sunday Bada, and Enefiok Udo-Obong.
Things took another turn 12 years later in 2012 when one of the anchors for the U.S. Team, Antonio Pettigrew, admitted to the use of banned substances in 2008.
Thus, the punishment was to strip the U.S. team of the gold medal and thereafter, assign same to Nigeria.
Perhaps the best we have seen so far in Nigeria’s 72 years of participating in the largest gathering of Super stars in sports was in the 1996 Atlanta. Since then, the country had not replicated such performances.
However, it is instructive to know that out of a total 27 medals won by Nigeria in the Olympics, athletics seem to have the upper hand, having 14 medals, while eight of the medals were from the relay races.
Nigeria’s strong point since 1996 had always been in the relay races where it consistently won medals, especially in the men’s category, after the foray of Sunday Bada, Francis Obikwelu, Olusoji Fasuba, Uchenna Emedolu, Deji Aliu and Enefiok Udo-Obong.
Others in the female category included Franca Idoko, Gloria Kemasuode, Halimat Ismaila, Oludamola Osayomi, Agnes Osazuwa, Blessing Okagbare, Chioma Ajunwa, Gloria Alozie and Mary Onyali.
In the breakdown of medals Nigeria won six Olympics medals in boxing – three bronze and three silver.
In Weightlifting, Nigeria also won three medals – two silver and one bronze, won a bronze in Taekwondo through Chuka Chukwumerije, and a silver in Wrestling through Blessing Oborodudu.
Nigeria seems to have upper hand in football after the gold medal in 1996 as it was followed by Silver medal in 2008 Olympics in Beijing and also a bronze medal in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Athletics have the highest medal in rankings, with Nigeria winning 14 medals having two gold, five silver and seven bronze.
Although Nigeria have been consistent in the podium finish in athletics, the country has not returned to the peak it attained in 1996 and 2000 after seeing some of the veterans retired.
However, the coming Olympics have been touted as another time for Nigeria to return to the golden era of dominance in athletics.
It is instructive to know that the present Nigerian athletes are record breakers in their categories, especially with the emergence of breathtaking sprinters in the mould of Tobiloba Amusan, Favour Ofili, Favour Ashe.
Expectedly in the relay races, four Nigerian relay teams booked their Olympic berths at the recently concluded 2024 World Relays in the Bahamas.
The success at the Bahamas shows the level at which Nigerian relay teams are made of when it comes to relay.
Apart from the track event Nigeria also has reliable field events specialist such Chukwuebuka Cornnell Enekwechi, who has set a new African record of 21.63 metres in the Shot Put event in Czech Republic.
Some pundits are already talking loud about Nigeria’s chances at the Olympics especially in the athletics event.
To solidify the expectant podium finish there must be adequate preparations and not overly relying on individual brilliance or crash programme wher athletes are hurriedly prepared for major games.
The standard practice is that athletes should be given enough room to prepare, especially for those that have qualified on time in their respective events.
For Paris 2024 Olympics, expectations are high as most of the athletes are in their prime performance-wise.
The Minister of Sports Development, Sen. John Owan-Enoh, knowing the task ahead of Team Nigeria at this year’s Olympics, emphasised the need to smash the 1996 record at Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
He literarily announced that the domestic camping would resume early and that foreign training tours are already scheduled.
Owan-Enoh, at the Ministerial Strategic Technical Meeting aimed at preparing Team Nigeria for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, emphasised the need to have Nigerian athletes in top shape ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics
At the meeting that brought together Olympics-bound sports federations, Owan-Enoh suggested a definite Roadmap to include a comprehensive technical training programme.
He said that the plans would be meticulously analysed by the Federation and Elite Athletes Department (FEAD) and the Ministerial Podium Performance Committee to ensure that Team Nigeria was on the right path to winning medals.
”Surpassing our best Olympic performance is a goal that we should target to meet. We must build on our past successes and strive for excellence in Paris 2024,” Owan-Enoh stated.
The Minister emphasized that both domestic and international preparations are crucial for the success of Team Nigeria.
”The combination of domestic camping and foreign training tours are essential. It ensures our athletes are well-prepared and ready to compete at the highest level,” he added.
While domestic camping has been officially opened in Abuja, Lagos, Bayelsa, and Ibadan, Owan-Enoh said that the foreign training tours would take place thereafter with the U.S., Germany, Spain, Italy, among top destinations.
The roadmap discussed during the meeting was aimed to provide athletes with the best possible preparation, leveraging state-of-the-art facilities and expert coaching, both locally and internationally.
Thus far, 88 Ahletes have qualified for the Olympics and many others are still in the qualification process.
Owan-Enoh, who expressed confidence in the plans laid out, urged all stakeholders to remain committed and focused on the goal of achieving outstanding results at the 2024 Paris Games.
Bambo Akani, an athletics enthusiast and the Founder of Making of Champions (MoC) – an organisations that have been championing the cause of athletes in Nigeria – in an interview with NAN said that Nigeria has once again reached its Golden age in athletics.
He also said that he foresaw the golden era where Nigeria would be the hub of athletics in Africa.
Akani also declared that Nigeria has what it takes to have the reigns of athletics in Africa, just like its dominance in the early and late 90s.
He said, ”Fortunately, Nigeria has the tools and the calibre of athletes that can compete with the rest of the world including the fastest of them all.
”We have athletes such as Godson Brume and Favour Ashe in the bracket of good timing in Africa.
”I am also expecting that the current Nigerian Stars are going to be the most exciting athletes after some lapses in the last decade and perform well at the Olympics.”
He also tipped Nigeria to do well at the relays, which had been its strong point of participation at the previous Olympics.
As the Paris Olympics beckons, all eyes will be on sprint stars such as Tobiloba Amusan, Favour Ofili, Favour Ashe, Chukwuebuka Enekwechi and others, to do well enough during the athletics meet in Paris. (NANFeatures)
